1. Justification is a courtroom term that means "to declare righteous." It is the opposite of condemnation. Justification does not cause one to be righteous; it simply proclaims one to be righteously perfected in God’s Son the moment he/she believes or rests in Christ’s finished work at Calvary.¹

 

2. Critical to one's understanding of the means of justification are three principles.

 

Principle #1: JUSTIFICATION IS BY GOD'S GRACE FREELY 

Being justified freely* by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:24)

The word freely is dwrean/dorean meaning "a gift," hence "without cause," hence "free" or "freely." In John 15:25, Jesus says, " They hated me (dorean) without a cause." Justification as part of the salvation package is free: it cannot be earned. This means that there will not be one person in heaven who merits or deserves to be there. The believer is not the cause of his justification: the cause is God alone by His grace.

 

Principle #2: JUSTIFICATION IS BY FAITH ALONE

Therefore being justified by (ek) faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:1)

Faith is the human response that God expects to His gospel of salvation by grace.

 

Principle #3: JUSTIFICATION IS BY HIS BLOOD (VIOLENT DEATH) 

Much more then, being justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. (Romans 5:9)

 Summary : "How can a man be just before God?" "Freely by grace through faith in Christ's violent, expiatory death."

 

3. The ground of our justification is the work of Christ for us, not in us. (Rom. 3:25-26.) Justification is not a process that goes on inside the believer: it is a point in time declaration by God.

 

4. There can be no justification of human beings without : 

1. the remission of sins and
2. the imputation of Christ’s righteousness.

1. Since there is no difference in the moral state of all men (Jews or Gentiles), righteousness is provided by God on a basis adapted to all, i.e., faith in Christ and His finished work. (Rom. 3:22-23.) 
2. This justification by faith is taught in both the Old and New Testaments. As proof, Paul cites Abraham and David as Old Testament examples. (Rom. 4:1-8; Gen. 15:6; Psa. 32:2.) 
3. Thus, justification (righteousness) is provided by God gratuitously: e.g., totally by His grace and totally apart from human merit.

 

Justification – Salvation – Righteousness:

Efficient cause – the Grace of God

Procuring cause – the death of sinless Christ

Appropriating cause – faith in Christ’s work on the cross

 

4. The justified state is as unchangeable as is the righteousness of Christ: it is enduring in character. One cannot be a little bit justified since justification is absolute. Therefore we can say: justification is unchangeable righteousness, a righteous standing before God that cannot be altered. (Romans 8:33-34)

 

Having established these basic truths on justification, we now move on to its next historical challenge.

  

THE GALATIANS’ PROBLEM WITH JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH: LEGALISTIC ADDITIONS

In the first article in this series, I sought to demonstrate that Peter and the Eleven Apostles maintained a very narrow, myopic view of the candidates who could be justified. They went to Jews, witnessed to Jews, and preached only to Jews. This went on for about ten years!  

Once the Gentiles were accepted as viable candidates, another challenge arose: must these converts now become Jewish in order to be saved or in order to keep saved? Must they be circumcised and live under Jewish Law and customs? This problem plagued the early church and it surfaced dramatically in the churches in Galatia. THIS PROBLEM IS STILL WITH US TODAY PROMOTED BY THOSE WHO ADD REQUIREMENTS AS TO HOW ONE IS SAVED OR JUSTIFIED! 

Paul with Barnabas founded churches in Galatia on his first missionary journey (Acts 13:14-14:23). Shortly after, Judaizer-Legalists from Palestine came to this region in vehement opposition both to Paul (as an Apostle) and to his teachings on grace. They tempted the Galatian believers with another Gospel diametrically opposed to that which Paul preached (Gal. 1:5-7). They tempted believers to reject Paul’s apostolic authority (Gal. 1:11-2:20). And they tempted believers to turn from grace provision to law works as a basis of justification and sanctification (Gal. 3 & 4). Judaistic-legalistic teachers are referred to in Acts 15:1; Phil. 3:1-6; and Rom. 2:17-3:8.² To put it mildly, Paul hated their guts. 

In Galatians 2, Paul records two historical incidents that illustrate his consistent defense of the good news of justification by faith in Christ alone against legalistic incursions. Friends, this is real life history: names are named; human beings are involved; error that would pervert and subvert the truth of the Gospel is the issue! Read closely. 

Gal. 2:1-10: Defense Before the Apostles & Legalizers in Jerusalem

Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also. And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain. But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised: And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. (Galatians 2:1-5)

 

THE PROBLEM: false brethren, unsaved Jewish legalizers, sought in the church in Jerusalem to subvert the Gospel by insisting that Gentile believers be circumcised and keep the law of Moses in order to be saved. Luke quotes them in Acts 15:1 as saying, "Except you be circumcised after (or in accord with) the manner of Moses, you cannot be saved."

THE FOCUS: Titus, a Greek (Gentile) believer and companion of Paul, upon whom the legalizers sought to impose circumcision.

THE REAL ISSUE: The truth of the Gospel!

 

Paul says, " We would not yield in subjection to these nor tolerate such false teaching, no, not for an hour: THAT THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL MIGHT CONTINUE WITH YOU." (v.5)  

Any perversion of the doctrine of justification threatens the very truth of the Gospel. To tolerate such is to diminish the value of the vicarious and efficacious work of Christ at calvary. Paul would not tolerate such perversion. In this same context, he reminds us all that justification is purely by faith in Christ apart from and without the works of the Law (2:15-21). 

Such was consistently the message of Paul. In his first recorded sermon (in a synagogue), he proclaimed:  

Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. (Acts13: 38-39) 

Paul’s refusal to circumcise Titus despite the pressures of false teachers in Jerusalem is an historic defense of the doctrine of justification. Fortunately, the Apostles side with him and the truth of the Gospel is maintained.

 

Gal. 2: 11-15: Defense Before the Legalists & Peter in Antioch 

But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? (Galatians 2:11-15.)

 

THE PROBLEM: While in Antioch, Peter took his meals with Gentile believers. He ate what they ate… ham and eggs, pork chops and the like… until certain Jews, no doubt professing believers, arrived from Jerusalem, having been sent by James. Upon their arrival, Peter hypocritically separated himself from the Gentiles and became involved in further dissimulation with them. Even Barnabas was drawn into their perverted practices and attitudes that were inconsistent with the truths associated with justification by faith. The text states that Peter like a chameleon adjusted his decorum because "he feared them which were of the circumcision." (v.12) Fear can make cowards of us all. 

THE FOCUS: Peter’s attitudes, his lifestyle, and his walk, along with the subtle emphases of the legalistic travelers from Jerusalem. 

THE CRITICAL ISSUE: "They walked not uprightly according to the truth of the Gospel." (v.14) In other words, their legalistic attitudes and practices were such that they subverted the truth of the Gospel, which in context is the truth of justification by faith alone in Christ alone plus nothing!  

Whereas the challenge with Titus was doctrinal, the issue with Peter was practice. With Titus, justification would have been undermined by a teaching that added good works as its means. With Peter, the doctrine would be undermined by his legalistic practice, attitudes and hypocritical lifestyle which made the Gentile believers appear less righteous than he. 

Please note that Paul in this context is vehemently defending the purity of the doctrine of justification, and to do so, he names individuals, he does so publicly, he does so without apology. Why? BECAUSE THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL WAS AT STAKE! In our day, he would be called "unloving," "judgmental," "critical," "a doctrinal trouble-causer," "a hair splitter" even by people who claim to be saved by grace through faith! 

Paul’s boldness in confronting Peter and his cohorts publicly is another historic defense of the doctrine of justification. And he won Peter and Barnabas back after confronting them in the paragraph that follows with the basic truths of the doctrine (2:15-21). The exegesis of 2:15-21 is important to our theme, but it must saved for my next article.

 

Conclusions and Applications 

1. Justification, righteousness from God’s perspective, does not concern itself with rites and rituals (circumcision, baptism, Lord’s Table or the Eucharist, confirmation, etc.). Rites and rituals confuse the issue. 

2. Nothing can improve upon the righteousness that God imputes to the Believer the moment that he/she simply puts his/her faith in the saving merits of Christ’s work on the cross. Legalists would have you believe otherwise. 

3. Justification is not a process: keep it separate from sanctification. Like Paul, do not let legalists confuse the issues. 

4. Good Believers like Peter and Barnabas can get confused by legalistic additions to the Gospel. When they do, they often mislead by their practices and attitudes. 

5. At times, these inconsistencies must be made public. Names may have to be mentioned: persons, even prominent Christians like Peter and Barnabas, may have to be rebuked publicly. 
6. Just as a woman cannot be a little bit pregnant, neither can one be a little bit justified! Be thankful. Do not try to improve upon the righteousness that you have in Christ. Rest in it. It is not only absolute; it is permanent. ¢  

 ¹ Pursuant to defining the scriptural use of the word justified, I discovered that everyplace the verb form (dikaiow/ dikaioo) is used in Romans and Galatians: a) that where God is the subject, the verb invariably is active voice (except Rom. 3:4), meaning God is the One who justifies sinful men, Rom. 3:30; 8:30; Gal. 3:8; and b) that in every case where sinful man is the subject, the verb is passive voice, meaning the subject is acted upon by God. The sinner is justified, that is, declared righteous by God, Rom. 2:13; 3:20; 4:2; 6:7; Gal. 2:16 (3 times); 3:11; 3:24; 5:4. Theologically, both a) and b) are categorical.

2 False brethren in Galatians 2:4 translates the word pseudadelfouV / pseudadelphous, "spurious or pseudo brethren." These were unbelievers posing as believers and pushing legalism in the form of circumcision and law-keeping and thus perverting the Gospel of grace that Paul preached. In Philippians 3:2, Paul calls them "dogs" and warns of their evil. But not all legalizers in Paul’s day were unbelieving or pseudo-brothers. Acts 15:5 speaks of Pharisees who believed, yet sought to force the Law and circumcision on the Gentile believers. As then, so now a person can be a believer who is or who gets confused, and in his confusion seeks to impose legalistic strictures on other believers. Even Peter and Barnabas were so misled for a while. For an in-depth discussion of this issue, see my article entitled "The Believer and the Mosaic Law: How Do These Relate?" (simply address your request to me in care of The Grace Family Journal).